Motor-operated compressor

ABSTRACT

A motor-operated compressor includes a compression unit including a compression chamber formed by a plurality of scrolls engaged with each other. The compressor includes a rotation shaft having one end coupled to one of the scrolls and a rotor coupled with another end of the rotation shaft. The compressor includes a stator radially separated from the rotor by a predetermined gap. The compressor includes a casing having a motor chamber. The stator is inserted in the motor chamber and divides the motor chamber into a first space and a second space. The casing includes an inlet port coupled to the first space to guide a refrigerant toward the motor chamber. The casing also includes a suction guide passage coupled to the second space to guide the refrigerant sucked through the inlet port toward the compression unit. A communication passage portion in the rotation shaft communicates the first and second spaces.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 119(a), this application claims the benefit ofan earlier filing date of and the right of priority to KoreanApplication No. 10-2018-0106676, filed on Sep. 6, 2018, the contents ofwhich are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 1. Field of the Disclosure

The present disclosure relates to a scroll type motor-operatedcompressor.

2. Background Art

Generally, compressors for compressing a refrigerant in automotive airconditioning systems have been developed in various forms. Recently,motor-operated compressors driven by electric power using motors havebeen actively developed according to the tendency of electricization ofelectric parts of vehicles.

A motor-operated compressor mainly employs a scroll compression methodsuitable for a high compression ratio operation. Such a scroll typemotor-operated compressor (hereinafter, abbreviated as a motor-operatedcompressor) is disclosed in Patent Document (Korean Patent Laid-OpenPublication No. 10-2013-0024491).

In the related art motor-operated compressor disclosed in the patentdocument, a protrusion is formed on outer circumferential surface of amotor unit housing constituting a casing, and a suction flow pathrecessed toward an outer circumferential surface of the protrusion isformed on an inner circumferential surface of the protrusion. Aplurality of protrusions disposed in a circumferential direction withpredetermined intervals is provided, and the plurality of protrusionsare provided with the suction flow paths, respectively. Accordingly, thesuction flow path is spaced from an outer circumferential surface of astator, which is press-fitted into an inner circumferential surface ofthe motor unit housing, thereby forming a passage through which arefrigerant can move between both spaces of a driving motor.

In the related art motor-operated compressor, the refrigerant is suckedinto an inner space of the motor unit housing through a refrigerantinlet port. The refrigerant then flows to an opposite side of thedriving motor through a gap between the stator and a rotor and throughthe suction flow path of the motor unit housing, spaced from the outercircumferential surface of the stator, thereby being introduced into acompression unit.

However, in the related art motor-operated compressor, as the pluralityof suction flow paths are recessed into the inner circumferentialsurface of the motor unit housing along the circumferential directionwith the predetermined intervals, the inner circumferential surface ofthe motor unit housing and an outer circumferential surface of a statorcore are spaced apart from each other at plural portions along thecircumferential direction. As a result, a radial supporting force forsupporting the stator in a radial direction becomes uneven and therebydeformation of the stator core may occur. As a result, a gap between thestator and the rotor becomes uneven, causing deterioration of motorefficiency and increase in vibration noise of the compressor.

Further, in the related art motor-operated compressor, since theplurality of suction flow paths are formed at the outer circumferentialsurface of the stator, there is a limit to enlarge an outer diameter ofthe stator. As a result, the outer diameter of the stator is reducedrather than an outer diameter of the casing and thereby an output of themotor is reduced. On the contrary, a length of the motor increasesrather than the output of the motor, thereby increasing a length of thecompressor.

Further, in the related art motor-operated compressor, an area of arefrigerant passage communicating a front space and a rear space witheach other on the basis of the driving motor may be limited inside thedriving motor. In particular, when a coil wound on the stator core iswound in a distributed winding form, the refrigerant passage cannot beformed between wound coils, and thereby the refrigerant cannot movequickly to the compression unit. As a result, the suction flow path isformed widely between the inner circumferential surface of the motorunit housing and the outer circumferential surface of the stator so thatthe refrigerant in the front space can flow to the rear space, whichcauses the aforementioned problem.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

One aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a motor-operatedcompressor, capable of enhancing motor efficiency and suppressingvibration noise by maintaining a uniform gap between a stator and arotor in a manner of making rigidity of a casing uniform in acircumferential direction.

Further, it is an aspect of the present disclosure to provide amotor-operated compressor, capable of suppressing deformation of astator by minimizing an area spaced between an inner circumferentialsurface of a casing and an outer circumferential surface of the stator.

Another aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a motor-operatedcompressor, capable of enhancing motor efficiency or performance byenlarging an outer diameter of a stator with respect to a casing havingthe same outer_diameter, and simultaneously minimizing a size of thecompressor by reducing a length of a motor with respect to a motorhaving the same output.

Still another aspect of the present disclosure is to provide amotor-operated compressor, capable of allowing a refrigerant sucked intoan inner space of a casing to quickly flow toward a compression unitlocated at an opposite side through a motor, while excluding orminimizing a refrigerant passage between an inner circumferentialsurface of the casing and an outer circumferential surface of a stator.

Further, it is an aspect of the present disclosure to provide amotor-operated compressor, capable of ensuring a wide refrigerantpassage within an outer circumferential surface range of a motor.

In order to achieve the aspects of the present disclosure, there isprovided a motor-operated compressor, including a casing, a drivingmotor disposed in an inner space of the casing to divide the inner spaceof the casing into a front space and a rear space, a compression unit tocompress a refrigerant by receiving a rotational force of the drivingmotor, and a rotation shaft having one end coupled to the driving motorand another end coupled to the compression unit to transfer therotational force of the driving motor to the compression unit, whereinthe rotation shaft is provided with a suction communication passage toguide a fluid sucked into the front space toward the rear space.

Here, the suction communication passage may be formed through an insideof the rotation shaft in a lengthwise direction or may be a grooveformed with a predetermined depth on an outer circumferential surface ofthe rotation shaft in the lengthwise direction.

The suction communication passage may be provided with a transfer memberto transfer a fluid in the front space to the rear space.

The casing may be provided with a communication groove recessed by apredetermined depth on an inner circumferential surface thereof so as tocommunicate the front space and the rear space.

Also, in order to achieve the aspects of the present disclosure, thereis provided a motor-operated compressor, including a compression unitforming a compression chamber as a plurality of scrolls are engaged witheach other, a rotation shaft having one end coupled to one of theplurality of scrolls, a rotor coupled with another end of the rotationshaft, a stator provided at an outer circumferential surface of therotor with a predetermined gap therefrom, a casing having a motorchamber in which the stator is inserted, the motor chamber divided intoa first space and a second space based on the stator, the casingprovided with an inlet port formed at the first space to guide arefrigerant toward the motor chamber, and a suction guide passage formedin the second space to guide the refrigerant sucked through the inletport toward the compression unit, and a communication passage portionprovided in the rotation shaft to communicate the first space and thesecond space.

Here, the communication passage portion may include a firstcommunication hole formed inside the rotation shaft in an axialdirection, and a second communication hole formed in a penetratingmanner between an inner circumferential surface of the firstcommunication hole and an outer circumferential surface of the rotationshaft so that both ends communication passage portion are accommodatedin the first space and the second space, respectively.

The first communication hole may be provided therein with a suctionguide member to suck the refrigerant in the first space.

The second communication hole may be provided in plurality formed atpredetermined intervals along a circumferential direction.

The second communication hole may be formed at a position radiallyoverlapping a coil located in the second space.

Here, the communication passage portion may be formed by being recessedon an outer circumferential surface of the rotation shaft in alengthwise direction, and have a first end located in the first spaceand a second end located in the second space.

The communication passage portion may be formed in a spiral shape, andthe communication passage portion may be formed to be wound in a forwarddirection, with respect to a rotation direction of the rotation shaft,from the first end located in the first space to the second end locatedin the second space.

Here, the stator may include a stator core having a plurality of teethformed on an inner circumferential surface thereof along acircumferential direction, and coils wound on the plurality of teeth ofthe stator core, respectively, and the coils may be wound in aconcentrated winding manner so that the communication passage portion isformed between neighboring coils.

Here, the casing may be provided with a communication groove formed onan inner circumferential surface thereof to communicate the first spaceand the second space.

The communication groove may be formed to be connected to the suctionguide passage.

Also, in order to achieve the aspects of the present disclosure, thereis provided a motor-operated compressor, including a main housing havinga motor chamber communicating with an inlet port, a driving motor havinga stator coupled to an inner space of the main housing and a rotorrotatably disposed in the stator, so as to divide the inner space of themain housing into a first space and a second space on the basis of thestator, a rotation shaft coupled to the rotor of the driving motor, afirst scroll eccentrically coupled to the rotation shaft to perform anorbiting motion, a second scroll coupled to the main housing outside theinner space of the main housing and engaged with the first scroll toform a compression chamber, a rear housing coupled to the second scrollto form a discharge chamber together with the second scroll, an inverterhousing coupled to the main housing, and a suction communication passagecommunicating the first space and the second space of the main housing,wherein the suction communication passage is formed within an outerdiameter range of the stator.

Here, the stator may include a stator core having a plurality of teethformed on an inner circumferential surface thereof, and a plurality ofcoils wound around the plurality of teeth of the stator core,respectively, and the suction communication passage may include a firstcommunication passage formed between two neighboring coils among theplurality of coils.

The suction communication passage may include a second communicationpassage formed by a gap between an inner circumferential surface of thestator and an outer circumferential surface of the rotor.

Here, the suction communication passage may include a communicationpassage portion provided in the rotation shaft to communicate the firstspace and the second space.

In addition, the communication passage portion may be provided thereinwith a suction guide member.

Here, the main housing may be provided with a communication grooveformed on an inner circumference thereof to communicate the first spaceand the second space, and the communication groove may be formed in amanner that at least part thereof is located at a lowest point closestto a ground.

EFFECTS OF THE DISCLOSURE

In a motor-operated compressor according to the present disclosure, asan inner circumferential surface of a main housing and an outercircumferential surface of a stator core are entirely or almost entirelyin tight contact with each other, the outer circumferential surface ofthe stator core can be prevented from being deformed during a process ofpress-fitting the stator core to the main housing. Thus, substantiallythe same gap can be maintained between a stator and a rotor, which mayresult in enhancing motor efficiency and reducing a frictional lossbetween the stator and the rotor. Also, this may result in suppressingcollision noise between the stator and the rotor and vibration causeddue to the collision noise.

Also, in a motor-operated compressor according to the presentdisclosure, a suction communication passage is not formed between a mainhousing and a stator, which may result in maximizing an outer diameterof the stator. Accordingly, an output of a motor can increase withrespect to the same axial length, and a size of the compressor can bereduced by decreasing the axial length of the motor with respect to thesame output.

In addition, in a motor-operated compressor according to the presentdisclosure, since a suction communication passage for communicating afront space and a rear space is formed in a rotation shaft or in anouter circumferential surface of the rotation shaft, a refrigerantintroduced into the front space can quickly flow to the rear space evenwithout forming a separate suction communication passage between a mainhousing and a stator. Accordingly, a suction loss of the compressor canbe suppressed, and volume efficiency of the compressor can increase.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 and 2 are an exploded perspective view and an assembledsectional view of a motor-operated compressor according to the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a surrounding of a motor unit inFIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line “V-V” of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of a part of a driving motor,viewed from a front, for explaining a suction communication passage inFIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a suction guide passage for guiding arefrigerant of a motor chamber to a compression chamber in amotor-operated compressor according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 7 is a planar view illustrating an engagement relationship betweenan orbiting wrap and a fixed wrap in a non-involute shape in amotor-operated compressor according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view illustrating a part of a rotation shaft forexplaining a communication hole in the rotation shaft according to thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line “VI-VI” for explaining asecond communication hole in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view illustrating an example in which acommunication hole is provided with a suction guiding member in FIG. 8.

FIGS. 11 and 12 are perspective views illustrating different embodimentsof a communication passage portion in a motor-operated compressoraccording to the present disclosure.

FIG. 13 is a sectional view illustrating another embodiment of amotor-operated compressor according to the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Description will now be given in detail of a motor-operated compressoraccording to exemplary embodiments disclosed herein, with reference tothe accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 1 and 2 are an exploded perspective view and an assembledsectional view of a motor-operated compressor according to the presentdisclosure, FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a surrounding of amotor unit in FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line“V-V” of FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of a part of adriving motor, viewed from a front, for explaining a suctioncommunication passage in FIG. 4.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, a scroll type motor-operated compressor(hereinafter, abbreviated as a motor-operated compressor) according toan embodiment of the present disclosure may include a compressor module101 for compressing a refrigerant, and an inverter module 201 coupled toa front side of the compressor module 101 for controlling an operationof the compressor module 101. The compressor module 101 and the invertermodule 201 may be assembled successively, or independently manufacturedand assembled. This embodiment illustrates the latter as arepresentative example, but the former and the latter may alternativelybe combined such that the compressor module and the inverter module areindependently manufactured but successively assembled.

The compressor module 101 includes a main housing 110 having an innerspace forming a motor chamber 51 and provided with an inlet port 111formed to communicate with the motor chamber 51, a driving motor 120 asa motor unit fixed to the motor chamber 51 of the main housing 110, aframe 130 provided at one side of the driving motor 120 and coupled tothe main housing 110 to support a rotation shaft 125 and an orbitingscroll 140 to be described later, a compression unit 105 provided at oneside of the driving motor 120 outside the main housing 110 to compress arefrigerant using a rotational force of the driving motor 120, and arear housing 160 coupled to another side of the compression unit 105 toform a discharge chamber S2.

As the main housing 110 is arranged in a horizontal direction withrespect to the ground, the driving motor 120 and the compression unit105 are also arranged in the horizontal direction. For the sake ofexplanation, a left side of FIG. 2 is designated as a front side and aright side as a rear side.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the main housing 110 is formed in acylindrical shape with both open ends. However, in some cases, a frontend of the main housing 110 may be open and a rear end may be integrallyformed with a frame so as to be formed in a semi-closed shape. Thisembodiment will be described by exemplifying a cylindrical shape inwhich both ends of the main housing are opened.

In the vicinity of the front end of the main housing 110, an inlet port111 for guiding a refrigerant to an inside of the main housing isformed. Accordingly, the motor chamber S1 forms a kind of suction space.Thus, the motor-operated compressor according to this embodiment isimplemented as a low-pressure compressor in which a refrigerant isintroduced into the compression unit 105 through the inner space of themain housing 110 forming the motor chamber.

The front end of the main housing 110 is sealed by being coupled to aninverter housing 210 to be described later and the rear end of the mainhousing 110 is almost sealed by being coupled to the frame 130supporting the compression unit 105.

In addition, the driving motor 130 constituting the motor unit ispress-fitted into the motor chamber S1 of the main housing 110. Thedriving motor 130 includes a stator 121 fixed to an innercircumferential surface of the main housing 110, and a rotor 122positioned inside the stator 121 and rotated by interaction with thestator 121. The rotor 122 is coupled with a rotation shaft 125 thattransfers the rotational force of the driving motor 120 to thecompression unit 105 while rotating together with the rotor 122.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 4, the stator 121 is fixed in a manner thatthe stator core 1211 is press-fitted (hot pressing) in the innercircumferential surface of the main housing 110. Accordingly, the innerspace of the main housing 110 constituting the motor chamber 51 forms akind of suction space, and is divided into a front space 511 as a firstspace and a rear space S12 as a second space on the basis of the statorcore 1211. The front space 511 is a space communicating with the inletport 111 and the rear space S12 is a space facing the frame 130.

The stator core 1211 includes a yoke portion 1211 a formed in an annularshape and forming a magnetic path, and a plurality of teeth 1211 bradially protruding from an inner circumferential surface of the yokeportion 1211 a and wound with coils 1212. An outer circumferentialsurface of the yoke portion 1211 a is formed in a round shape, and eachof the plurality of teeth 1211 b is formed substantially in arectangular shape. The coils 1212 are wound around the plurality ofteeth 1211 b, respectively, in a concentrated winding manner.Accordingly, a gap is formed between the neighboring coils 1212 and thisgap defines a first suction communication passage (hereinafter, referredto as a first communication passage) 120 a.

A rotator core 1221 of the rotor 122 is inserted into the stator core1211 with a predetermined gap from an inner circumferential surface ofthe stator core 1211. A shaft fixing hole 1221 a in which the rotationshaft 125 is press-fitted may be formed in a center of the rotor core1221, a plurality of magnet mounting grooves 1221 b in which magnets1222 are inserted may be formed along an edge portion of the rotor core1221, and dimple grooves 1221 c for reducing a weight of the rotor 122may be formed between the shaft fixing hole 1221 a and the magnetmounting grooves 1221 b.

The shaft fixing hole 1221 a is blocked as the rotation shaft 125 ispress-fitted therein, and the magnet mounting grooves 1221 b are blockedas the magnets 1222 are inserted therein. The dimple grooves 1221 c areopened at the rotor core 1221 but are blocked together with the magnetmounting grooves 1221 b by end plates 1223 coupled to both ends of therotor core 1221.

As a result, the suction communication passage for communicating thefront space with the rear space is not formed in the rotor 122. However,an outer circumferential surface of the rotor core 1221 is spaced apartfrom an inner circumferential surface of the stator core 1211 by apredetermined gap and the gap between the rotor core 1221 and the statorcore 1211 defines a second suction communicating passage (hereinafter,referred to as a second communication passage) 120 b. However, in viewof the fact that the second communication passage 120 b substantiallycommunicates with the first communication passage 120 a, the firstcommunication passage 120 a and the second communication passage 120 bmay also be defined as one suction communication passage. However, whenthe coil 1212 is wound in a distributed winding manner, the firstcommunication passage 120 a is not formed. Therefore, the firstcommunication passage and the second communication passage will bedescribed separately in this embodiment in order to clearly show thatthe first communication passage 120 a is formed as the coils 1212 arewound in the concentrated winding manner.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, a shaft portion 125 a forming a front end ofthe rotation shaft 125 is integrally coupled to the shaft fixing hole1221 a of the rotor 122. A main bearing portion 125 b and a sub bearingportion 125 c forming a rear end of the rotation shaft 125 are insertedinto a first bearing 171 of the frame 130 and a second bearing 172 of asecond scroll 150, respectively, so as to be rotatably coupled thereto.Accordingly, the rear end of the rotation shaft 125 is rotatablysupported at the frame 130 and the second scroll 150 in a radialdirection, while the front end becomes a free end in a coupled state tothe rotor 122. Thus, the rotation shaft 125 is supported in acantilevered manner.

The rotation shaft 125 is provided with an eccentric portion 125 dformed on the main bearing portion 125 b and the sub bearing portion 125c to be eccentric with respect to a shaft center, and the eccentricportion 125 d is eccentrically coupled to a first scroll 140 to transferthe rotational force of the driving motor 120 to the first scroll 140.Accordingly, the first scroll 140 performs an orbiting motion.

An axial bearing protrusion 126 may extend radially from a middleportion of the rotation shaft 125, namely, between the main bearingportion 125 b and the eccentric portion 125 d. An axial bearing surface(not shown) of the axial bearing portion 126 forms a thrust surfacetogether with an axial bearing surface (not shown) of a first shaftaccommodating portion 131.

An oil supply passage 127 is formed in the rotation shaft 125 by apredetermined depth in a direction from the rear end toward the frontend. Oil supply holes 127 a, 127 b, and 127 c are formed through amiddle portion of the oil supply passage 127 toward outercircumferential surfaces of the main bearing portion 125 b, theeccentric portion 125 d, and the sub bearing portion 125 c,respectively.

In addition, the shaft portion 125 a of the rotation shaft 125 may beformed in a circular rod shape. However, the shaft portion 125 a of therotation shaft 125 may be provided with a communication hole 128 forcommunicating the front space S11 with the rear space S12. Thecommunication hole 128 allows the suction communication passage to bewidened so that a refrigerant in the front space S11 can quickly flow tothe rear space S12. For convenience, the communication hole 128 isdefined as a communication passage portion constituting a part of thesuction communication passage, which will be described later.

As illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, the main housing 110 may be formed in acylindrical shape as described above. Accordingly, an innercircumferential surface of the main housing 110 may be formed in a roundshape having the same radius from a center Om of the driving motor 120.

However, if an inner circumferential surface of the main housing 110 andan outer circumferential surface of the stator core 1211 are formed in around shape, a gap is not generated between the inner circumferentialsurface of the main housing 110 and the outer circumferential surface ofthe stator core 1211. As a result, oil separated from a refrigerant maynot smoothly flow from the front space S11, communicated with the inletport 111, to the rear space S12 in the inner space of the main housing110. Then, the oil is excessively accumulated in the front space S11 andoil shortage may occur in the compression unit 105.

Accordingly, a communication groove 112 recessed long by a predetermineddepth near a rear end may be formed at the inner circumferential surfaceof the main housing 110 according to this embodiment. The communicationgroove 112 may be formed to have a length long enough that the frontspace S11 and the rear space S12 can communicate with each other so thatoil in the front space S11 can move to the rear space S12. That is, thecommunication groove 112 is preferably formed at least longer than anaxial length of the stator core 1211.

Since the communication groove 112 serves as a passage through which oilstored in the front space S11 can flow to the rear space S12, at leastpart of the communication groove 112 is preferably formed to be includedin the lowest point of the main housing 110.

The communicating groove 112 may also be as wide as the oil can passtherethrough, but may preferably be as shallow in depth as possible in aradial direction, in view of increasing an outer diameter of the stator121.

Since the communication groove 112 is recessed by a predetermined depthinto the inner circumferential surface of the main housing 110, aprotruding portion may be formed on the outer circumferential surface ofthe main housing 110 by the recessed depth of the communication groove112, in order to secure a uniform thickness of the main housing 110.However, since a depth or width of the communicating groove 112 is notlarge, the communicating groove 112 may alternatively be formedshallowly on the inner circumferential surface of the main housing 110without forming the protruding portion. Accordingly, an outer diameterof the main housing 110 at a portion where the communication groove 112may also be the same as an outer diameter at the other portion.

However, an amount of oil separated from a refrigerant in the frontspace S11 is not large and the oil can flow toward the rear space S12along the first communication passage 120 a and the second communicationpassage 120 b in a mixed state with a subsequently-sucked refrigerant.

On the other hand, the frame 130 is coupled to the rear end of the mainhousing 110. The frame 130 may have a disk shape and may be coupled tothe rear end of the main housing 110 by bolts. Accordingly, the frame130 may be formed in a round shape having the same radius except forcoupling protrusions for coupling with the main housing 110.

However, as described above, since the frame 130 is coupled to orintegrally formed with the rear side of the main housing 110, the frame130 must be provided with a suction guide passage through which arefrigerant can pass. With this structure, a refrigerant that has movedfrom the front space S11 to the rear space S12 of the main housing 110through the suction communication passage can be sucked into thecompression unit 105. The suction guide passage will be described laterwith reference to FIG. 6.

Referring back to FIG. 2, with regard to the frame 130 according to thisembodiment, a first shaft accommodating portion 131, through which themain bearing portion 125 b of the rotation shaft 125 to be explainedlater is inserted so as to be rotatably supported, may protrude from theframe 130 toward the driving motor 120, a shaft accommodating hole maybe formed at a center of the first shaft accommodating portion 131, suchthat a first bearing for supporting the main bearing portion 125 b ofthe rotation shaft 125 is coupled thereto. In the drawing, the firstbearing 171 is shown as a bush bearing, but it may alternatively be aball bearing in some cases.

An inner circumferential surface of the first shaft accommodatingportion 131 may be spaced apart from the main bearing portion 125 b ofthe rotation shaft 125 so that a back pressure chamber S3 to bedescribed later can communicate with the motor chamber S1. With thisconfiguration, as oil or refrigerant in the back pressure chamber S3flows toward the motor chamber S1 along the axial bearing surface,dynamic pressure is generated in the back pressure chamber S3.

Also, the frame 130 is provided at its rear side with a scroll receivinggroove 132 in which an orbiting disk portion 141 of a first scroll 140to be explained later is inserted to be supported in an axial direction,an Oldham ring accommodating groove 133 for accommodating an Oldham ring180 therein which is a rotation-preventing mechanism, and a balanceweight accommodating groove 134 successively stepped from a rear side toa front side to rotatably accommodate a balance weight 124 therein.Accordingly, the Oldham ring accommodating groove 133 and the balanceweight accommodating groove 134 form the back pressure chamber S3.

On the other hand, a suction guide passage along which a refrigerantwhich has moved to the rear space of the motor chamber can be suckedinto the compression chamber may be formed through an edge portion ofthe frame in an axial direction.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a suction guide passage for guiding arefrigerant of a motor chamber to a compression chamber in amotor-operated compressor according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. As shown, the suction guide passage 135 a may be formed at alower half of the frame 130, that is, the lowest point of the frame 130.

For example, when the compressor module 101 is installed in a horizontaldirection with respect to the ground, a protrusion 135 extendingradially from the outer circumferential surface of the frame 130 isformed near the lowest point closest to the ground. The protrusion 135is provided with a suction guide passage 135 a formed therethrough in anaxial direction. The suction guide passage 135 a of the frame 130 islocated between the suction guide passage 113 a provided in the mainhousing 110 and a suction guide passage 154 a provided in the secondscroll 150, to guide a refrigerant within the rear space S12 toward thecompression chamber (suction chamber) V.

Here, if the frame 130 is formed in a round shape having the same radiusfrom the center Om of the motor, an outer diameter of the frame 130increases as large as the suction guide passage being formed at the edgeof the frame 130. As the outer diameter of the frame 130 increases, anouter diameter and weight of the compressor increases. This isdisadvantageous in reducing a size and weight of the compressor.Therefore, it may be preferable to form a radially-extending protrusionin a partial section of the outer circumferential surface of the frame130 and form a suction guide passage in the protrusion.

Accordingly, it is preferable that protrusions 113 and 154 are formed atan outer circumferential surface of the main housing 110 and an outercircumferential surface of the second scroll 150, respectively, and thesuction guide passage 113 a of the main housing 110 and the suctionguide passage 154 a of the second scroll 150, which communicate with thesuction guide passage 135 a of the frame 130, are formed in theprotrusions 113 and 154, respectively. Hereinafter, according to a flowsequence of a refrigerant, the protrusion of the main housing 110 isdefined as a first protrusion 113, a protrusion of the frame 130 isdefined as a second protrusion 135, a protrusion of the second scroll150 is defined as a third protrusion 154, a suction guide passage of themain housing 110 is defined as a first guide passage 113 a, a suctionguide passage of the frame 130 is defined as a second guide passage 135a, and a suction guide passage of the second scroll 150 is defined as athird guide passage 154 a. The first, second, and third suction guidepassages are collectively defined as a suction guide passage Fg.

On the other hand, the compression unit 105, as aforementioned, includesan orbiting scroll (hereinafter, referred to as a first scroll) 140supported by the frame 130 in an axial direction to perform an orbitingmotion, and a fixed scroll (or a non-orbiting scroll) (hereinafter,referred to as second scroll 150) engaged with the first scroll 140 andfixed to a rear end of the frame 130. A pair of compression chambers Vis formed between the first scroll 140 and the second scroll 150 duringthe orbiting motion of the first scroll 140. The compression chamberwill be described later with an orbiting wrap and a fixed wrap.

The first scroll 140 is axially supported by being inserted into ascroll mounting groove of the frame 130, and an Oldham ring 180 which isa rotation-preventing mechanism for preventing a rotation of the firstscroll 140 is provided between the frame 130 and the first scroll 140.The Oldham ring 180 is inserted into an Oldham ring mounting groove 133of the frame 130. The rotation-preventing mechanism may alternatively beimplemented as a mechanism including a pin and a ring as well as theOldham ring.

The first scroll 140 is provided with an orbiting scroll disk portion(hereinafter, referred to as an orbiting disk portion) 141 substantiallyin a disk shape. An orbiting wrap 142 is formed on a front surface ofthe orbiting disk portion 141. The orbiting wrap 142 is engaged with afixed wrap 153 to be explained later so as to form compression chambersat an inner surface and an outer surface with respect to the fixed wrap153. The orbiting wrap will be explained later with the fixed wrap.

The orbiting disk portion 141 is provided with a back pressure hole 141a for communicating the back pressure chamber S3 and an intermediatecompression chamber V with each other. Accordingly, oil or refrigerantcan flow between the back pressure chamber S3 and the intermediatecompression chamber V according to a difference between pressure in theback pressure chamber S3 and pressure in the intermediate compressionchamber V.

A rotation shaft coupling portion 143 to which the eccentric portion 125d of the rotation shaft 125 is rotatably coupled is formed through acenter of the orbiting disk portion 141. The rotation shaft couplingportion 143 is formed in a cylindrical shape, and a third bearing 173forming a bearing surface together with the eccentric portion 125 d ofthe rotation shaft 125 is inserted into the rotation shaft couplingportion 143. The rotation shaft coupling portion 143 (or the thirdbearing) is formed to overlap the orbiting wrap 142 in a radialdirection. The rotation shaft coupling portion 143 becomes a portion ofthe orbiting wrap 142 which is located at the innermost position.

Meanwhile, the second scroll 150, as aforementioned, is coupled to therear end of the frame 130 from the outside of the main housing 110. Inthis case, a sealing member such as a gasket may be provided between theframe 130 and the second scroll 150.

The second scroll 150 includes a fixed scroll disk portion (hereinafter,referred to as a fixed disk portion) 151 formed substantially in a diskshape, and a side wall portion 152 formed at an edge of the fixed diskportion 151 to be coupled to a frame-side end of the main housing 110.

A fixed wrap 153 which is engaged with the orbiting wrap 142 to formcompression chambers is formed on a front surface of the fixed diskportion 151. The fixed wrap 153 may be formed in an involute shapetogether with the orbiting wrap 142, but may also be formed in variousother shapes. The shape of the fixed wrap 153 will be described latertogether with the orbiting wrap 142, with reference to FIG. 7.

The third protrusion 154 radially protrudes from an outercircumferential surface of the side wall portion 152 so as to correspondto the second protrusion 135 of the frame 130. The third protrusion 154may be provided therein with the third guide passage 154 a communicatingwith the second guide passage 135 a. Accordingly, the suction guidepassage Fg is constituted as the first guide passage 113 a of the mainhousing 110, the second guide passage 135 a of the frame 130, and thethird guide passage 154 a of the second scroll 150 communicate together.

The third guide passage 154 a constituting the suction guide passage Fgmay be formed in an axial direction or may be formed to be inclined asshown in FIG. 6. If the third guide passage 154 a is formed in the axialdirection, an outer diameter of the fixed disk portion 151 may beenlarged to increase a wound length of the fixed wrap 153, compared tothe same outer diameter of the main housing 110. On the other hand, ifthe third guide passage 154 a is formed to be inclined, the wound lengthof the fixed wrap 153 compared with the same capacity of the compressionchamber may be reduced so as to downsize the compressor.

As the first guide passage 113 a, the second guide passage 135 a and thethird guide passage 154 a constituting the suction guide passage Fg areformed in the first protrusion 113, the second protrusion 135 and thethird protrusion 154, the suction guide passage Fg may be formed closeto an outer circumferential surface of the compressor. Accordingly, arefrigerant sucked into the compression chamber V through the suctionguide passage Fg from the motor chamber S1 can quickly exchange heatwith external air of the compressor, which may lower a specific volumeof the refrigerant sucked into the compression chamber V, therebyreducing a suction loss. Particularly, since the frame 130 and thesecond scroll 150 are provided outside the main housing 110, the secondand third guide passages 135 a and 154 a can be located much closer tothe outside than being inserted into the main housing 110. Accordingly,a refrigerant which has been slightly heated while passing through themotor chamber can be effectively cooled. Further, a dimple groove 152 amay be formed on the outer circumferential surface of the side wallportion 152 to reduce a weight of the second scroll 150 andsimultaneously prevent deformation of the second scroll 150. A pluralityof dimple grooves 152 a may be provided along a circumferentialdirection and spaced at predetermined intervals, or one continuousdimple groove 152 a may be formed in the circumferential direction.

Since the outer circumferential surface of the side wall portion 152 ofthe second scroll 150 is located outside the main housing 110, an outerdiameter of the second scroll 150 may be greater than or equal to aninner diameter of the main housing 110 or the frame 130. Therefore, theouter diameter of the second scroll 150 can increase on the basis of thesame outer diameter of the compressor, which may result in extending thewound lengths of the fixed wrap 153 and the orbiting wrap 142, therebyincreasing a suction volume of the compression chamber V.

An outlet port 155 which communicates a final compression chamber V witha discharge chamber S2 to be explained later so as to guide a dischargeof a refrigerant is formed at a central part of the fixed disk portion151. The outlet port 155 may be formed in a penetrating manner from thecompression chamber V to the discharge chamber S2 in an axial directionor inclined direction of the fixed disk portion 151. As illustrated inFIG. 7, only one outlet port 155 may be formed to communicate a firstcompression chamber V1 and a second compression chamber V2 to beexplained later, or a first outlet port 155 a and a second outlet port155 b may be formed to communicate with the first compression chamber V1and the second compression chamber V2, respectively.

A second shaft accommodating portion 156 in which the sub bearingportion 125 c of the rotation shaft 125 is rotatably inserted to besupported in a radial direction is formed in the center of the fixeddisk portion 151. The second shaft accommodating portion 156 may beformed in the fixed disk portion 151 in a manner of extending toward arear housing 160 in an axial direction, or may be formed by increasing athickness of the fixed disk portion 151. However, in the latter case,not only a weight of the second scroll 150 is increased but also anunnecessary portion is thickly formed, and thereby a length of theoutlet port 155 may become long, thereby increasing a dead volume.Therefore, a part of the fixed disk portion 151 protrudes as shown inthe former case. For example, it is preferable that a fourth protrusion157 is formed at a portion of the fixed disk portion 151, except for theportion where the outlet port 155 is formed, in a manner of protrudingin an axial direction and the second shaft accommodating portion 156 isformed in the fourth protrusion 157.

The second shaft accommodating portion 156 is formed in a cylindricalshape having a closed rear surface, and a second bearing 172, whichforms a bearing surface together with the sub bearing portion 125 c ofthe rotation shaft 125, is coupled to an inner circumferential surfaceof the second shaft accommodating portion 156 in an inserted manner. Thesecond bearing 172 may be implemented as a bush bearing or a needlebearing.

An oil guide space 156 a more extending in the axial direction than anend portion of the rotation shaft 125 is formed in a rear side of thesecond shaft accommodating portion 156. The oil guide space 156 a islocated between an oil guide passage 157 a and an oil supply passage 127to be explained later. The oil guide passage 157 a may communicate withthe discharge chamber S2, and the oil supply passage 127 may communicatethe bearing surfaces provided on the outer circumferential surfaces ofthe main bearing portion 125 b, the sub bearing portion 125 c and theeccentric portion 125 d, respectively.

The oil guide passage 157 a may be formed in the second scroll 150 or inthe rear housing 160, which will be described later. One end of the oilguide passage 157 a may communicate with an outer circumferentialsurface of the fixed disk portion 151 and another end of the oil guidepassage 157 a may communicate with an inner circumferential surface ofthe oil guide space 156 a. Accordingly, oil of high pressure, separatedfrom a refrigerant in the discharge chamber S2 of the rear housing 160,can quickly flow to the oil guide space 156 a along the oil guidepassage 157 a by a pressure difference, and then may be quickly suppliedto each bearing surface through the oil supply passage 127 and therespective oil supply holes 127 a to 127 c by the pressure difference.

On the other hand, each of the orbiting wrap and the fixed wrap may beformed in an involute shape. However, as shown in this embodiment, whenthe rotation shaft is coupled through the center of the second scroll asthe orbiting scroll, the final compression chamber may be formed in aneccentric position, and thereby a great pressure difference may begenerated between the compression chambers. This is because, in case ofa shaft-through scroll compressor, pressure of one compression chamberbecomes much lower than pressure of another compression chamber as thefinal compression chamber is formed eccentrically from a center of ascroll. Therefore, in the shaft-through scroll compressor, it isadvantageous to form the orbiting wrap and the fixed wrap into anon-involute shape as shown in this embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a planar view illustrating an engagement relationship betweenan orbiting wrap and a fixed wrap in a non-involute shape in amotor-operated compressor according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, an orbiting wrap 142 according the embodimentof the present disclosure may have a shape in which a plurality of arcshaving different diameters and origins are connected and the outermostcurve is formed substantially in an elliptical shape having a major axisand a minor axis. A fixed wrap 153 may be formed in a similar manner.

A rotation shaft coupling portion 143 which forms an inner end portionof the orbiting wrap 142 and to which an eccentric portion 125 d of arotation shaft 125 is rotatably inserted may be formed through a centralpart of an orbiting disk portion 141 in an axial direction. A thirdbearing 173 implemented as a bush bearing may be fixedly inserted intoan inner circumferential surface of the rotation shaft coupling portion143. An outer circumferential part of the rotation shaft couplingportion 143 is connected to the orbiting wrap 142 to form thecompression chamber V together with the fixed wrap 153 during acompression process.

Furthermore, the rotation shaft coupling portion 143 may be formed at aheight overlapping the orbiting wrap 142 on the same plane, and thus theeccentric portion 125 d of the rotation shaft 125 may be disposed at aheight overlapping the orbiting wrap 142 on the same plane. Accordingly,a repulsive force and a compressive force of a refrigerant can beattenuated by each other while being applied to the same plane based onan orbiting disk portion, thereby preventing an inclination of the firstscroll 140 due to an action of the compressive force and repulsiveforce.

The rotation shaft coupling portion 143 is provided with a concaveportion 143 a formed on an outer circumferential part thereof, whichfaces an inner end portion of the fixed wrap 153, and engaged with aprotrusion 153 a of the fixed wrap 153 to be explained later. Anincreasing portion 143 b which increases in thickness from an innercircumferential part to the outer circumferential part of the rotationshaft coupling portion 143 is formed at an upstream side along adirection that a compression chamber V is formed. This may extend acompression path of the first compression chamber V1 immediately beforedischarge, and consequently a compression ratio of a first compressionchamber V1 can be increased close to a compression ratio of a secondcompression chamber V2.

At another side of the concave portion 335 is formed an arcuatecompression surface 143 c having an arcuate shape. A diameter of thearcuate compression surface 143 c is decided by a thickness of the innerend portion of the fixed wrap 153 (i.e., a thickness of a discharge end)and an orbiting radius of the orbiting wrap 142. When the thickness ofthe inner end portion of the fixed wrap 153 increases, a diameter of thearcuate compression surface 143 c increases. As a result, a thickness ofthe orbiting wrap around the arcuate compression surface 143 c mayincrease to ensure durability, and the compression path may extend toincrease the compression ratio of the second compression chamber V2 tothat extent.

In addition, a protrusion 153 a is formed near the inner end portion (asuction end or a start end) of the fixed wrap 153 corresponding to therotation shaft coupling portion 143 in a manner of protruding toward theouter circumferential part of the rotation shaft coupling portion 143.The protrusion 153 a may be provided with a contact portion 153 bprotruding therefrom to be engaged with the concave portion 143 a. Inother words, the inner end portion of the fixed wrap 153 may be formedto have a larger thickness than other portions. As a result, wrapstrength at the inner end portion of the fixed wrap 153, which issubjected to the highest compressive force, may increase so as toenhance durability.

On the other hand, the compression chamber V may be formed by the fixeddisk portion 151, the fixed wrap 153, the orbiting wrap 142 and theorbiting disk portion 141, and a suction chamber, an intermediatepressure chamber, and a discharge chamber may be formed consecutivelyalong a proceeding direction of the wraps.

The compression chamber V may include a first compression chamber V1formed between an outer surface of the orbiting wrap 142 and an innersurface of the fixed wrap 153, and a second compression chamber V2formed between an inner surface of the orbiting wrap 152 and an outersurface of the fixed wrap 153. In other words, the first compressionchamber V1 includes a compression chamber formed between two contactpoints P11 and P12 generated in response to the inner surface of thefixed wrap 153 being brought into contact with the outer surface of theorbiting wrap 142, and the second compression chamber V2 includes acompression chamber formed between two contact points P21 and P22generated in response to the outer surface of the fixed wrap 153 beingbrought into contact with the inner surface of the orbiting wrap 142.

Here, when a large angle of angles formed between two lines, whichconnect a center of the eccentric portion, namely, a center O of therotation shaft coupling portion to the two contact points P11 and P12,respectively, is defined as a within the first compression chamber V2just before discharge, the angle α at least just before the discharge islarger than 360° (i.e., α<360°), and a distance l between normal vectorsat the two contact points P11, P12 has a value greater than zero.

As a result, the first compression chamber immediately before thedischarge, which is formed by the fixed wrap and the orbiting wrapaccording to the embodiment of the present disclosure, may have asmaller volume than that formed by a fixed wrap and an orbiting wraphaving an involute shape. Therefore, the compression ratios of the firstand second compression chambers V1 and V2 can all be improved evenwithout increasing the size of the first wrap 142 and the second wrap153.

Meanwhile, a rear housing 160 is coupled to a rear surface of the secondscroll 150. As the rear housing 160 is coupled to the rear surface ofthe second scroll 150, a discharge chamber S2 may be formed such that arefrigerant discharged from the compression chamber V is accommodatedtherein. A sealing member such as a gasket may be provided between therear housing 160 and the second scroll 150.

The rear housing 160 is provided with an exhaust port 161 communicatingwith a discharge pipe. The rear housing 160 may also be provided thereinwith a support protrusion 162 protruding toward a fourth protrusion 157of the second scroll 150 so as to support the second scroll 150 in anaxial direction. The support protrusion 162 is in close contact with arear surface of the second scroll 150, more precisely, the fourthprotrusion 157 so as to support the second scroll 150 toward the firstscroll 140.

Meanwhile, an inverter housing 210 may be coupled in a covering mannerto one of both ends of the main housing 110, which is opposite to therear housing 160, namely, the front end of the main housing 110.

Referring back to FIGS. 1 and 2, the inverter housing 210 constitutes apart of an inverter module 201. The inverter housing 210 forms aninverter chamber S4 together with an inverter cover 220.

The inverter chamber S4 accommodates therein inverter components 230such as a substrate and an inverter element, and the inverter housing210 and the inverter cover 220 are coupled to each other by bolts. Theinverter cover 220 may be assembled to the inverter housing 210 afterthe inverter housing 210 is first assembled to the main housing 110, orthe inverter housing 210 may be assembled to the main housing 110 afterbeing assembled to the inverter cover 220. The former and the latter maydiffer according to a method of assembling the inverter housing 210 tothe main housing 110.

A sealing surface portion 212 facing the front end of the main housing110 may be formed on a rear surface of the inverter housing 210 and asealing protrusion 213 is formed at an inner side of the sealing surfaceportion 212 to be inserted into an inner circumferential surface of themain housing 110. An O-ring serving as a sealing member 215 may beinserted between an outer circumferential surface of the sealingprotrusion 213 and an inner circumferential surface of an opening of themain housing 110 which are in contact with each other.

The sealing protrusion 213 may be formed in an annular shape and have apredetermined height and thickness within a range that does notinterfere with the driving motor 120. A sealing groove 213 a in whichthe O-ring as the sealing member 215 is inserted may be formed on theouter circumferential surface of the sealing protrusion 213. The sealinggroove 213 a may also be formed on the inner circumferential surface ofthe main housing 110. However, when the sealing member 215 is theO-ring, it is advantageous in terms of assembly characteristics that thesealing member 215 is inserted onto an outer surface of the sealingprotrusion 213.

In the drawings, unexplained reference numerals 115 and 211 denotecoupling protrusions.

Oil and refrigerant may circulate in the motor-operated compressoraccording to the embodiment of the present disclosure as follows.

That is, when power is applied to the driving motor 120, the rotationshaft 125 transfers a rotational force to the first scroll 140 whilerotating together with the rotor 122, and the first scroll 140 performsan orbiting motion by the Oldham ring 180. Then, the compression chamberV is reduced in volume while continuously moving toward a center.

The refrigerant then flows into the motor chamber S1 as a suction spacethrough the inlet port 111. The refrigerant introduced into the motorchamber S1 mainly flows from the front space S11 to the rear space S12through the first communication passage 120 a and the secondcommunication passage 120 b. At this time, the refrigerant flowing fromthe front space S11 to the rear space S12 absorbs heat generated by thedriving motor 120, so as to cool the driving motor 120.

On the other hand, the refrigerant moved to the rear space S12 is suckedinto the compression chamber V through the guide passages 113 a, 135 aand 154 a. At this time, oil sucked into the front space S11 togetherwith the refrigerant is separated from the refrigerant in the frontspace S11 and is gathered on a bottom surface of the front space S11.The oil then flows from the front space S11 to the rear space S12through the communication groove 212 provided at the bottom surface ofthe main housing 110 so as to be sucked into the compression chamber Vtogether with the refrigerant.

The refrigerant is compressed by the first scroll 140 and the secondscroll 150 and discharged to the discharge chamber S2 through the outletport 155. This refrigerant is separated from oil in the dischargechamber S2. The refrigerant is discharged to a refrigeration cyclethrough the exhaust port 161 while the oil is supplied to each bearingsurface through the oil guide passage 157 a, the oil guide space 156 a,the oil supply passage 127 and the oil supply holes 127 a to 137 c whichconstitute an oil supply path. The oil is partially introduced into theback pressure chamber S3 so as to form back pressure supporting thefirst scroll 140 toward the second scroll 150.

The first scroll 140 is supported in a direction toward the secondscroll 150 by the back pressure of the back pressure chamber S3, so thatthe compression chamber V between the first scroll 140 and the secondscroll 150 is sealed. At this time, the oil in the back pressure chamberS3 partially flows into the compression chamber V through the backpressure hole 141 a provided at the orbiting disk portion 141 whilepartially being introduced into the motor chamber S1 through a gapbetween the main bearing portion 125 b and the first bearing 171 suchthat the back pressure chamber S3 forms dynamic pressure. Such series ofprocesses are repetitively performed.

As described above, in the motor-operated compressor according to theembodiment, the suction communication passage is not formed between theinner circumferential surface of the main housing 110 and the outercircumferential surface of the stator core 1211, or is formed verynarrowly even when formed. Accordingly, most of the refrigerantintroduced into the front space S11 through the inlet port 111 flow tothe rear space S12 through the first communication passage 120 a formedin the stator 121 and the second communication passage 120 b formedbetween the stator 121 and the rotor 122.

At this time, as the coils 1212 according to the embodiment are wound inthe concentrated winding manner, an interval between the neighboringcoils becomes wider than that of a distributed winding. Therefore, anentire area of the first communication passage 120 a formed between theneighboring coils is enlarged, so that the refrigerant in the frontspace S11 can quickly flow to the rear space S12 through the firstcommunication passage 120 a although a separate suction communicationpassage is not formed between the main housing 110 and the stator 121.

Also, an outer diameter of the stator 121 can increase because thesuction communication passage is not formed at the outer circumferentialsurface of the stator 121. Accordingly, the inner diameter of the stator121 and the outer diameter of the rotor 122 can increase, which mayresult in enlarging an entire area of the second communication passage120 b formed between the outer circumferential surface of the stator 121and the inner circumferential surface of the rotor 122. As a result, therefrigerant in the front space S11 can smoothly flow to the rear spaceS12 through the second communication passage 120 b..

However, in some cases, the refrigerant in the front space S11 may notbe able to quickly move to the rear space S12 only through the firstcommunication passage 120 a and the second communication passage 120 b.Then, an amount of refrigerant sucked into the compression chamber Vbecomes insufficient, and performance of the compressor may bedeteriorated due to a suction loss.

Accordingly, a communication passage portion for communicating the frontspace and the rear space may be formed inside the rotation shaftaccording to the embodiment of the present disclosure. The communicationpassage portion forms a third communication passage constituting thesuction communication passage.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view illustrating a part of a rotation shaft forexplaining a communication hole in the rotation shaft according to thepresent disclosure, and FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line“VI-VI” for explaining a second communication hole in FIG. 8.

As illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9, a communication passage portion may beimplemented as a communication hole formed through the rotation shaft125. The communication hole 128 may include a first communicating hole128 a formed in an axial direction and a second communicating hole 128 bcommunicating with the first communicating hole and formed in a radialdirection.

The first communication hole 128 a is formed by a predetermined depth ina direction from a front end to a rear end of the rotation shaft 125.The first communication hole 128 a has one end accommodated in the frontspace S11 and another end accommodated in the rear space S12.

An inner diameter of the first communication hole 128 a is preferablyformed as wide as possible so that the shaft portion 125 a of therotation shaft 125 can support the rotor 122, in view of a flow rate ofa refrigerant. For example, an inner diameter D1 of the firstcommunication hole 128 a may be formed to be equal to or greater than aninner diameter D2 of the oil supply passage 127.

The second communication hole 128 b may be formed in a penetratingmanner from an inner circumferential surface of the first communicationhole 128 a to an outer circumferential surface of the rotation shaft125. The second communication hole 128 b may be formed to communicatewith the another end of the first communication hole 128 a, that is, therear space S12.

Here, only one second communication hole 128 b may be formed. However,as illustrated in FIG. 9, the second communication hole 128 b may beprovided in plurality, and the plurality of second communication holes128 b may be formed at predetermined intervals along a circumferentialdirection. When the plurality of second communication holes 128 b areformed along the circumferential direction, a refrigerant can flow morequickly.

The second communication hole 128 b may be formed at a position whereits outlet end overlaps the coil 1212 located in the rear space S12 in aradial direction. Accordingly, a refrigerant flowing from the frontspace S11 to the rear space S12 through the communication hole 128 maybe radially sprayed from the second communication hole 128 b and thenbrought into contact with the coil 1212, thereby effectively cooling thecoil 1212. At this time, the refrigerant can more quickly flow as acentrifugal force is generated by the second communication hole 128 b.

On the other hand, since the first communication hole is formed in theaxial direction, there is a limit to increase a suction force for arefrigerant. Therefore, the inner circumferential surface of the firstcommunication hole 128 a may be formed in a flat smooth tube shape, buta suction guide groove (not shown) may be formed in a spiral shape.Then, the spiral suction guide groove generates a centrifugal force, sothat the refrigerant in the front space S11 can move to the rear spaceS12 more quickly.

Also, as illustrated in FIG. 10, a suction guide member 128 c forfacilitating a suction of a refrigerant may be provided in the firstcommunication hole 128 a. The suction guide member 128 c according tothis embodiment may be a helical fan.

Thus, in the motor-operated compressor according to the embodiment ofthe present disclosure, the inner circumferential surface of the mainhousing and the outer circumferential surface of the stator core allcome into tight contact with each other, or almost all except for thecommunication groove are closely contacted.

Accordingly, during a process of fixing the stator core to the mainhousing by press-fitting, the stator core uniformly receivessubstantially the same radial force from the main housing along acircumferential direction. Then, stress on the outer circumferentialsurface of the stator core is generated substantially uniformly alongthe circumferential direction, and thus the stator core can bemaintained substantially in a round shape without being deformed. Then,almost the same gap is maintained between the stator and the rotor alongthe circumferential direction, thereby improving motor efficiency andsimultaneously reducing a frictional loss between the stator and therotor. Furthermore, collision noise between the stator and the rotor andvibration due to the collision noise can be suppressed.

In the motor-operated compressor according to the embodiment of thepresent disclosure, since the suction communication passage for passinga refrigerant therethrough is not formed between the main housing andthe stator, an outer diameter of the stator can be maximized.Accordingly, an output of the motor can increase with respect to thesame axial length, and also a size of the compressor can be reduced bydecreasing the axial length of the motor with respect to the sameoutput.

In the motor-operated compressor according to the embodiment of thepresent disclosure, since the suction communication passage is notformed between the main housing and the stator, a refrigerant suckedinto the front space of the motor chamber may not move quickly to therear space. However, as shown in the embodiment of the presentdisclosure, since the communication hole communicating the front spaceand the rear space is formed inside the rotation shaft, the refrigerantcan move quickly from the front space to the rear space even if aseparate suction communication path is not formed between the mainhousing and the stator. Accordingly, a suction loss of the compressorcan be suppressed, and volume efficiency of the compressor can beenhanced.

In the foregoing embodiment, the communication hole formed through therotation shaft is formed to communicate the front space and the rearspace with each other. On the other hand, this embodiment illustratesthat a communication passage groove is formed at an outercircumferential surface of the rotation shaft such that the front spaceand the rear space can communicate with each other. For convenience, acommunication hole or communication passage groove provided in therotation shaft is defined as a third communication passage.

FIGS. 11 and 12 are perspective views illustrating different embodimentsof a communication passage portion in a motor-operated compressoraccording to the present disclosure. As illustrated in these drawings, acommunication passage portion according to this embodiment may beconfigured as a communication passage groove 129 formed to have apredetermined depth and width on the outer circumferential surface ofthe rotation shaft.

For example, the communication passage groove 129 is formed on the outercircumferential surface of the shaft portion 125 a. The communicationpassage groove 129 is longer than an axial length of the rotor 122.Thus, an inlet end of the communication passage groove 129 is located inthe front space S11 and an outlet end is located in the rear space S12,respectively.

The communication passage groove 129 may be formed in a linear shapealong an axial direction as illustrated in FIG. 11, or may be formedinto a spiral shape as illustrated in FIG. 12. When the communicationpassage groove 129 is formed in a spiral shape, it may be preferablethat the communication passage groove 129 is wound in a forwarddirection with respect to a rotation direction of the rotation shaft125. That is, on the basis of a middle portion of the communicationpassage groove 129, a first end 129 a located in the front space S11 maybe located at a forward side and a second end 129 b located in the rearspace S12 may be located at a backward side, with respect to therotation direction of the rotation shaft 125. As a result, a centrifugalforce in the communication passage groove 129 can increase and arefrigerant in the front space S11 can more quickly move to the rearspace S12.

Further, only one communication passage groove 129 may be formed, but aplurality of communication passage grooves 129 may be formed in the sameshape. When the communication passage groove is provided in plurality,each communication passage groove 129 can be formed small in depth orwidth, which may result in securing support strength of the rotationshaft 125 with respect to the rotor even while forming the communicationpassage grooves on the outer circumferential surface of the rotationshaft.

Since the operation effects of the communication passage grooveaccording to this embodiment are the same as or similar to those of theaforementioned communication hole, a detailed description thereof willbe omitted. However, in this embodiment, since the communication passagegroove 129 is formed on the outer circumferential surface of therotation shaft 125, it can be processed more easily than thecommunication hole.

Although not shown in the drawing, the communication passage groove mayalternatively be formed on an inner circumferential surface of the shafthole of the rotor in addition to the outer circumferential surface ofthe rotation shaft. The operation and effect thereof will be the same asor similar to that of the foregoing embodiment.

Meanwhile, in the above-described embodiment, the inlet port is formedthrough a side surface of the main housing. Alternatively, the inletport may be formed through a front surface of the main housing, forexample, a central portion of the inverter housing.

FIG. 13 is a sectional view illustrating another embodiment of amotor-operated compressor according to the present disclosure.

As illustrated in FIG. 13, the inverter module 201 may be provided witha suction guide pipe 250 axially coupled thereto in a penetratingmanner, and one end of the suction guide pipe 250 may penetrate throughthe inverter housing 210 so as to communicate with the front space S11of the main housing 110.

Furthermore, the suction guide pipe 250 may be provided with a devicemounting portion 252, and an inverter device 231 such as a switchingdevice may be adhered to an outer surface of the device mounting portion252. Accordingly, the inverter device 231 can be quickly dissipated orcooled by a refrigerant sucked through the suction guide pipe 250,thereby improving the performance of the compressor.

In this case as well, the suction communication passage and the suctionguide passage described in the foregoing embodiments may be provided.The basic structure and operation effects thereof are the same as orsimilar to those of the foregoing embodiments, and thus a detaileddescription thereof will be omitted.

When the suction guide pipe 250 communicates with the main housing 110in an axial direction, the suction guide pipe 250 is preferably formedcoaxially with the communication hole 128 of the rotation shaft 125, inview of simplifying a suction path of a refrigerant. That is, arefrigerant sucked into the front space S11 through the suction guidepipe 250 can flow more quickly to the rear space S12 through thecommunication hole 128 of the rotation shaft 125 positioned on a line.Of course, in this case as well, some of the refrigerant also flow fromthe front space S11 to the rear space S12 even through the firstcommunication passage 120 a provided in the stator and the secondcommunication passage 120 b between the stator and the rotor.

On the other hand, in the foregoing embodiments, the suction guidepassage through which a refrigerant passes is not formed, except thecommunication groove, between the inner circumferential surface of themain housing and the outer circumferential surface of the stator core.However, in some cases, a suction guide passage through which arefrigerant flows, as well as the communication groove, may also beformed in a minimum size. Even in this case, an area of the suctionguide passage can be remarkably reduced compared with the prior art, andthus the aforementioned effects can be obtained.

The foregoing embodiments are merely illustrative to practice the rotarycompressor according to the present disclosure. Therefore, the presentdisclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and itwill be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that variouschanges in form and details may be made therein without departing fromthe scope of the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A motor-operated compressor, comprising: acompression unit including a compression chamber formed by a pluralityof scrolls engaged with each other; a rotation shaft having one endcoupled to one of the plurality of scrolls; a rotor coupled with anotherend of the rotation shaft; a stator provided at an outer circumferentialsurface of the rotor and separated from the rotor by a predeterminedgap; a casing, including: a motor chamber, the stator being insertedinto the motor chamber and dividing the motor chamber into a first spaceand a second space; an inlet port fluidly coupled with the first spaceto guide a refrigerant toward the motor chamber; and a suction guidepassage formed in the second space to guide the refrigerant suckedthrough the inlet port toward the compression unit; and a communicationpassage portion in the rotation shaft configured to communicate thefirst space and the second space.
 2. The compressor of claim 1, whereinthe communication passage portion comprises: a first communication holeformed within the rotation shaft in an axial direction; and a secondcommunication hole extending between an inner circumferential surface ofthe first communication hole and an outer circumferential surface of therotation shaft.
 3. The compressor of claim 2, wherein the firstcommunication hole includes a suction guide member configured to suckthe refrigerant in the first space.
 4. The compressor of claim 2,wherein the second communication hole is one of a plurality of secondcommunication holes disposed at predetermined intervals on the rotationshaft along a circumferential direction.
 5. The compressor of claim 2,wherein the second communication hole is formed at a position radiallyoverlapping a coil located in the second space.
 6. The compressor ofclaim 1, wherein the communication passage portion is formed as a recesson an outer circumferential surface of the rotation shaft in alengthwise direction, the communication passage portion having a firstend located in the first space and a second end located in the secondspace.
 7. The compressor of claim 6, wherein the communication passageportion has a spiral shape, and wherein the communication passageportion is formed to be wound in a forward direction, with respect to arotation direction of the rotation shaft, from the first end to thesecond end.
 8. The compressor of claim 1, wherein the stator comprises astator core having a plurality of teeth positioned on an innercircumferential surface thereof along a circumferential direction, andcoils wound on the plurality of teeth of the stator core, respectively,and wherein the coils are wound in a concentrated winding manner so thatthe communication passage portion is formed between neighboring coils.9. The compressor of claim 1, wherein the casing includes acommunication groove formed on an inner circumferential surface of thecasing, the communication groove fluidly communicating the first spaceand the second space.
 10. The compressor of claim 9, wherein thecommunication groove is connected to the suction guide passage.
 11. Amotor-operated compressor, comprising: a main housing including a motorchamber communicating with an inlet port; a driving motor including: astator coupled to an inner space of the main housing; and a rotorrotatably disposed in the stator, so as to divide the inner space of themain housing into a first space and a second space; a rotation shaftcoupled to the rotor of the driving motor; a first scroll eccentricallycoupled to the rotation shaft to perform an orbiting motion; a secondscroll coupled to the main housing and engaged with the first scroll toform a compression chamber; a rear housing coupled to the second scrollto form a discharge chamber together with the second scroll; an inverterhousing coupled to the main housing; and a suction communication passagefluidly communicating the first space and the second space of the mainhousing, the suction communication passage being formed within an outerdiameter of the stator.
 12. The compressor of claim 11, wherein thestator comprises a stator core having a plurality of teeth formed on aninner circumferential surface thereof, and a plurality of coils woundaround the plurality of teeth of the stator core, respectively, andwherein the suction communication passage comprises a firstcommunication passage formed between neighboring coils among theplurality of coils.
 13. The compressor of claim 11, wherein the suctioncommunication passage comprises a second communication passage formed bya gap between an inner circumferential surface of the stator and anouter circumferential surface of the rotor.
 14. The compressor of claim11, wherein the suction communication passage comprises a communicationpassage portion in the rotation shaft, the communication passage portionfluidly communicating the first space and the second space.
 15. Thecompressor of claim 14, wherein the communication passage portionincludes a suction guide member.
 16. The compressor of claim 11, whereinthe main housing includes a communication groove formed on an innercircumference of the main housing, the communication groove fluidlycommunicating the first space and the second space, and wherein at leasta part of the communication groove located at a lowest point of thecompressor closest to a ground.
 17. A motor-operated compressor,comprising: a casing, including a motor chamber; a stator connected tothe motor chamber, the stator dividing the motor chamber into a firstspace and a second space; a rotor positioned within the stator andseparated from the stator by a gap; a rotation shaft coupled to therotor; an inlet port fluidly coupled with the first space and configuredto guide a refrigerant toward the motor chamber; and a suctioncommunication passage fluidly communicating the first space and thesecond space.
 18. The compressor of claim 17, further including aplurality of teeth protruding radially inward from an innercircumferential surface of the stator, coils being wound on the teeth,wherein, the suction communication passage includes: a first suctioncommunication passage defined by gaps between adjacently located coils;and a second suction communication passage defined by the gap betweenthe rotor and the stator.
 19. The compressor of claim 17, furtherincluding a communication passage configured to fluidly communicate thefirst space and the second space, the communication passage including: afirst communication passage portion extending axially within therotation shaft from the first space toward the second space; and asecond communication passage portion extending radially inward from anouter surface of the rotation shaft and connecting with the firstcommunication passage portion.
 20. The compressor of claim 17, furtherincluding: an inverter housing coupled to the casing adjacent the inletport; and a compressor housing coupled to the casing on an end of thecasing opposite to the inlet port.